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NICK CAFARDO | ON BASEBALL

Which of the Red Sox’ outfield stars takes a seat in World Series?

Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Mookie Betts: One will have to sit out the games in the NL park. Getty Images

You know what stinks about the Red Sox making it to the World Series? Those darned National League rules that don’t include a DH.

Know what that means? When games are played in the National League city, that great Red Sox outfield will be diminished. J.D. Martinez, after all, has to be in that lineup. He’s a force, a great hitter, and he’s not a bad outfielder. But he’s not Andrew Benintendi or Jackie Bradley Jr. One of those guys will be on the bench.

We all appreciate what the Sox defense did in the AL Championship Series. They were a human highlight film, with Mookie Betts’s incredible vertical leaps near the wall and his tremendous arm to throw out runners. What was lost in the fan interference play was how far he went and how high he jumped to compete for that ball.

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Then there was Benintendi making that great diving catch to save Game 4 and his ability to run down balls in left. ALCS MVP Bradley had fewer opportunities, and his contributions came mostly on offense.

Longtime observers of postseason play are saying this outfield collectively may be the best ever defensively. The alignments for games in the NL city will have to include Martinez likely playing right or left, depending on whether it’s Milwaukee or Los Angeles. Betts is likely to move to center field, and Bradley either would sit or move to left while Benintendi sat. I don’t foresee Martinez sitting out a game, because his power bat is simply too valuable.

Jackie Bradley Jr. game 5 press conference after win over Astros

I thought from spring training that the Red Sox should have experimented with Martinez at first base, but it never happened. I remember asking manager Alex Cora the question in spring training, but he dismissed it, saying it would be asking too much of Martinez to just pick up a first baseman’s mitt after he’d never done it.

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Martinez loves playing the outfield, though, and would do it full time if the Sox didn’t have such an elite defensive group. He has a strong arm and is someone who can throw out a runner.

This is a “good problem to have,” as they say. Or is it a nuisance of the highest order? The rules will make the Red Sox less effective in the National League city.

This is where there needs to be a uniform rule for baseball: adopt the DH in both leagues so we don’t have to endure the useless pitcher at-bat. I understand there are a few pitchers who are good hitters. There are some who are adept at bunting and can move a runner along. But to have to bench a good player — whether it’s Benintendi or Bradley — because the pitcher has to hit is just ridiculous.

National League lineups wind up being far weaker than American League lineups as a result. Being a pitcher in the NL is much easier than being a pitcher in the AL. That’s why two Hall of Fame pitchers — Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine — never switched leagues. Glavine dreamed of pitching for his hometown Red Sox, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that if he pitched in the AL with DHs, he wouldn’t have had the success he did. Maddux also commented often about not wanting to pitch in the tougher AL.

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We wonder, too, how dominating Clayton Kershaw would have been pitching for the Yankees or Red Sox rather than the Dodgers. And we can flip that and ask how much more dominant Chris Sale or David Price would be in the NL. That’s why we wondered why Price chose the Red Sox over the Cardinals when he became a free agent. We know there was a little more money coming from the Red Sox, but the Cardinals’ offer wasn’t far off.

The outfield defense the Red Sox have goes beyond great catches and throws. It’s things like cutting balls off that are headed to the gap. It’s creating fear in the baserunner when Bradley has the ball in his hands — instead of trying to stretch a single into a double, you think twice and stay at first. Do you realize how that “fear” helps the pitching staff?

We always say that pitching and defense wins championships, and the Red Sox have a championship outfield. They also have home-field advantage, so they will have their outfield defense intact for four of the seven games.

“These three guys together are special,” Red Sox utilityman Brock Holt said. “I don’t know if I could have the decision to dive for the ball that Benny dove for to end that [Game 4]. It was not only a great play, but it was a great decision.”

This outfield has played together now for two-plus years. Something they also do as well as any unit is back each other up. Benintendi can dive for a ball knowing that Bradley will back him up. The same goes for Betts in right.

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The arms are superb. Bradley has been clocked at 105 miles per hour throwing the ball to the plate. Betts has an accurate, strong arm. Benintendi’s arm is average to above average, but he has improved his accuracy this season.

Cora never likes to sacrifice defense for offense. But he’s not afraid to do it. In the ALDS, he replaced the more defensive-minded Ian Kinsler with Holt, who hit for the cycle that night. He also inserted Rafael Devers for Eduardo Nunez.

And now the consequence of going to the World Series is that for at least two games he’ll be forced to emphasize offense over what might be the best outfield defense in postseason history.


Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickcafardo.